World leaders focus on how to punish Russia over Ukraine  —  BRUSSELS (AP) — With the smell of war in the air over Europe, world leaders got over the shock of Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to deploy troops to separatist regions of eastern Ukraine and they are focused on producing as forceful a reaction as possible.

Putin's Endgame: Unravel the Post-Cold War Agreements That Humiliated Russia  —  Moscow's military forces threaten Ukraine, but the bigger prize is restoration of Russia's sphere of influence stretching through Eastern Europe  —  The world's attention is on eastern Ukraine, where Moscow's forces circle.

Supreme Court turns away Trump's appeal in dispute with House Jan. 6 panel  —  The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away an appeal by former President Trump in his dispute with congressional investigators who have sought access to Trump-era records as part of a House panel's investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

San Francisco Shows Democrats Have a Seismic Challenge Ahead  —  The political earthquake that just occurred in San Francisco should be a dire warning to the national Democratic Party, because the same fault line stretches across the country and the tremors are only increasing.

All 3 defendants convicted of hate crimes in Arbery killing  —  BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The three men convicted of murder in Ahmaud Arbery's fatal shooting were found guilty of federal hate crimes and other lesser charges Tuesday for violating Arbery's civil rights and targeting him because he was Black.

Whatever became of the anti-Trump prophets? … For years, the actor Tom Arnold occupied himself with a singular goal: ending Donald Trump's presidency.  And what does he have to show for it?  —  “My ex-wife did put in her divorce filings that I was suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome …

The Long Crusade of Clarence and Ginni Thomas  —  The Supreme Court justice and his wife battled for years for a more conservative America.  New reporting shows how far she was willing to go after Donald Trump's 2020 election loss.  —  The call to action was titled “Election Results and Legal Battles: What Now?”

Rick Scott pushes own GOP agenda as McConnell holds off  —  Senate Republican leaders have no plans to release an alternative agenda as they try to win back the majority this fall.  So Rick Scott is pursuing his own plan.  —  The Florida Republican senator is devising a conservative blueprint …

Biden Ratings on Economy, Foreign Affairs, Russia Near 40%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty-one percent of U.S. adults approve of the job Joe Biden is doing as president, similar to his 40% rating for handling foreign affairs, while approval of his handling the economy and the situation with Russia are slightly lower.

When Boring People Turn Dangerous: Canada's Insane Power Grab  —  The Canadian government's decision to freeze bank accounts in the trucker protests is a mad leap toward bureaucratic dystopia  —  On Christmas Eve, 2018, New York Times writer Andrew Ross Sorkin published, “How Banks Unwittingly Finance Mass Shootings.”

Olympics suffer record-low ratings amid China's human rights controversy  —  After more than two weeks of coverage, the 2022 Winter Olympics competition in Beijing is complete, leaving behind dismal TV ratings.  —  NBC announced it had an average of 11.4 million viewers across …

Bob Beckel, former co-host of ‘The Five,’ dead at 73  —  The Democratic strategist was a founding co-host of the long-running Fox News show  —  Sean Hannity reflects on the life of Bob Beckel  —  Bob Beckel, a Democratic strategist and former co-host of “The Five,” has died at age 73.

“Stand your ground” laws linked to jump in U.S. firearm homicides  —  The enactment of “stand your ground” laws was associated with an “abrupt and sustained” national increase in firearm homicide rates in America, according to a new study published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Network Open.

Latest proposed change to Florida's 'don't say gay' bill riles Democrats  —  They say a new amendment would require schools to notify parents when LGBTQ students confide in school officials.  —  An amendment to Florida's so-called “don't say gay” bill is sending outrage over the measure …